FLYPmedia is the most amazing multimedia site on the web. It is simply an aesthetic masterpiece. Usually when a Web site is inundated with visually eye-popping features it lacks substance somewhere, but somehow Flypmedia incorporated both detailed interactive features and gritty storytelling.

What I love about this online magazine is that it has no boundaries. It is refreshing to not be confined to one topic. There are different stories that would appeal to any reader’s sensibility. They have hard-hitting articles like Granny is ok; it’s health care reform that is in serious trouble to more lighthearted features like Jennifer Lopez’s Cupid’s Sweetheart.

Flypmedia is so in depth and so layered. When I was reading the health care reform article, it linked me to an article written by Steven Hill as another viewpoint and there was also an accompanying video of people debating the issue. You have all the elements of great media bottled up in this one Web site. It is a dose of high-octane online journalism and it engages its readers through raw storytelling and creativity.

Although the website is heavily interactive, it is in no way convoluted or overwhelming. It is streamlined perfectly to keep the reader’s attention. I love to read, but I don’t think it’s a secret that most people aren’t reading much these days. The attention span of Americans has shortened considering the changing technology has accustomed us to everything moving at the speed of sound, but even for those who don’t have an affinity for many paragraphs will want to know the story behind the images. The photographs are so crisp and striking. Often newspapers get stuck in the drudgery and forget the appeal.

The newspaper is really dying, although most traditionalist don’t want to admit it. The newspapers are trying desperately to figure out the best model for the internet. Flypmedia is an advertisers dream. They are fresh-faced and could even be the blueprint for new multimedia business model.

I was reading a feature article about the Interactive News Team at the NYTimes where readers got to do a Q & A with each member of the team. Steve Duenes, the graphic director, for the team said, “Readers don’t want to spend a lot of time figuring out how something works. Even when there’s a lot of data, the interface should be designed so that the content is easily accessible.” I believe this to be the key ingredient for multimedia success. Flypmedia gives you all the bells and whistles without the hastle.

I was also reading a Poynter article from 2003 and the first sentence said, “Multimedia editorial content isn’t quite perfect yet — but the best online storytelling by news organizations is pretty darn good.” Well look’y what we have here!! Flypmedia’s multimedia editorial content, to me, is perfection.

In the same article they listed a “What not to do” for aspiring multimedia mavericks. It is as follows:

What not to do
Finally, if your organization is interested in doing a better job of online storytelling. Here’s some advice from the judges on multimedia news content:

1) Don’t be too clever with your interface design. Make it easy for the reader without adding superfluous tricks that detract from the content.

2) Don’t throw too many “gee whiz, look what I can do” components into a multimedia project, when a more routine approach would have been just as, if not more, effective.

3)Don’t toss too much information in a multimedia package unless you’re got a clear organizational scheme with which to guide readers through.

4) Many designers add sounds to buttons, but making them too loud or obnoxious is a turn-off.
If you’re a small online-news organization, don’t try to do too many multimedia projects. Focus on doing a few well during the year, rather than a bunch not as well.

Flypmedia nailed it. It is certainly an innovative addition to the changing landscape of media and exemplary of the growing digital convergence in news. Most importantly it is user-friendly. This magazine could simply be the root of the digital divide. I love it!